Drakestown House, once the centrepiece of the Drakestown estate, was demolished in the 1930s by the Irish Land Commission when the property was divided. A century earlier, however, in the 1830s, the mansion was the setting for an unusual haunting.

A story recorded on Dúchas.ie recounts the following:

The ghost, said to take the form of a woman, haunted a room in the top storey of the house. The owner—a Protestant—offered the site for the present Catholic church at Ballapousta in return for the priest’s help in banishing the spirit. With great difficulty, the priest succeeded in driving the ghost from the mansion, confining her to a large tree on the lawn.
In time, however, the ghost returned to the house, and the priest was summoned again. This time, he banished her to the Red Sea. As she departed, she was heard to cry the words: “for ever and ever.”
About fifteen years ago, a timber merchant bought wood from the Drakestown estate, including the so-called ‘ghost tree.’ When it was cut through, the tree refused to fall. It remained upright overnight and was only brought down the next day with pulleys and chains—but no trace of the ghost appeared.
Local tradition also recalls that James Johnston of Corracon held the candle while the Very Rev. Canon Levins drew a ring around the tree before placing the spirit within it. Johnston himself died more than 30 years ago.